title: Lanthanides and quantum dots as Förster resonance energy transfer agents for diagnostics and cellular imaging.
abstract: Luminescent lanthanide labels (LLLs) and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are two very special classes of (at least partially) inorganic fluorophores, which provide unique properties for Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). FRET is an energy-transfer process between an excited donor fluorophore and a ground-state acceptor fluorophore in close proximity (approximately 1-20 nm), and therefore it is extremely well suited for biosensing applications in optical spectroscopy and microscopy. Within this cogent review, we will outline the main photophysical advantages of LLLs and QDs and their special properties for FRET. We will then focus on some recent applications from the FRET biosensing literature using LLLs as donors and QDs as donors and acceptors in combination with several other fluorophores. Recent examples of combining LLLs and QDs for spectral and temporal multiplexing from single-step to multistep FRET demonstrate the versatile and powerful biosensing capabilities of this unique FRET pair. As this review is published in the Forum on Imaging and Sensing, we will also present some new results of our groups concerning LLL-based time-gated cellular imaging with optically trifunctional antibodies and LLL-to-QD FRET-based homogeneous sandwich immunoassays for the detection of carcinoembryonic antigen.
authors.affiliation: BAM, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Division 1.10 Biophotonics , Berlin-Adlershof, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Geißler
authors.forename: Stina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Linden
authors.forename: Konstanze
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liermann
authors.forename: K David
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Wegner
authors.forename: Loïc J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Charbonnière
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hildebrandt
mesh_terms: D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements / Q000737:chemistry*; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D045663:Quantum Dots
chemical_list: D028581:Lanthanoid Series Elements